England will likely clinch the Six Nations rugby title on Saturday, but former coach Clive Woodward said they need a dominating display against Italy to ease the pain of last year’s World Cup final defeat to South Africa and set the tone for the future.
England are odds-on favourites to lift the trophy, although Ireland and third-placed France can also win the tournament that was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The simplest route to the title for England is a bonus-point victory over Italy coupled with Ireland failing to beat France.
“It’s a year since England flopped in the World Cup final,” Woodward wrote in his Daily Mail column. “After a blow like that you want to respond with something special… Fans are still waiting for a performance to banish those painful memories.
“So the priority on Saturday in Rome is to produce a high-quality performance. It might bring a Six Nations title but frankly I’m not overly bothered with that.”
Woodward, who coached England to World Cup glory in 2003, said he was sceptical about the team’s travel during the novel coronavirus outbreak.
“It’s been the strangest of years and I’m still not sure if England should even be flying to Rome… and Ireland venturing into a locked down Paris,” Woodward said.
“The situation involving travelling to games overseas is worse now than it was back in March.”
Woodward said that he wanted England playing at a pace “nobody can match” going forward.
“I frequently wish for this but rarely do I see it with England. Ireland away last year was a big exception and that World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand,” he added.
“Those performances must become the norm.”
More Stories
Argentina FA Training Facility Renamed After Messi
Rybakina Rallies Past Badosa, Potapova Upsets Gauff In Miami
England’s Kane Tells PM Sunak He Aims To Be Premier League Record Scorer
Wales Snatch Late Goal To Draw With Croatia
Bayern Squad Among Best And Can Challenge For Every Title – Tuchel
Germany Kick Off Euro 2024 Mission With Friendly Win Over Peru
Windies Skipper Smashes His Side To T20 Win Over South Africa
Qatar’s Al Thani Submits New US$6 billion Bid For Manchester United – Report
France Already Firing On All Cylinders As New Chapter Begins
England Not Winning Euro 2024 Would Be A Failure – Maguire
Piquet Ordered To Pay $950k For Racist, Homophobic Comments
Afghan Skipper Rashid Hails Maiden T20 Win Against Pakistan